Can my dog go on the beach?
Dog rules on US beaches change town by town and season by season. Pick a day and tap a beach or dog walk to see if dogs are allowed.
Dogs allowedOff-leash OKLeash requiredNo dogs some hoursNo dogs that dayDog walk (paw marker)Walk route
Tap a beach or walk on the map to see its dog rules. Tapping a walk with a mapped route zooms to the green route line. Use two fingers to move the map on a phone.
Pick a state
- MassachusettsCape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, Cape Ann, Boston and state beaches: 83 beaches, 5 walks
- New Hampshirethe Seacoast: 9 beaches
- Mainesouthern Maine and the state park beaches: 11 beaches, 3 walks
- Rhode Islandstate beaches and Narragansett: 7 beaches
- Connecticutstate park beaches: 5 beaches
- New YorkNew York City and Long Island: 11 beaches
- New Jerseythe Jersey Shore from Sandy Hook to Cape May: 8 beaches
- Delawarestate parks and Rehoboth Beach: 4 beaches
- MarylandOcean City: 1 beach
- VirginiaVirginia Beach and Shenandoah: 4 beaches, 1 walk
- North Carolinathe Outer Banks, southern beaches and the Smokies: 6 beaches, 1 walk
- South Carolinathe Grand Strand, Charleston, Hilton Head and Congaree: 4 beaches, 1 walk
- GeorgiaTybee, Jekyll, St. Simons and Atlanta's river trails: 3 beaches, 1 walk
- Floridaofficial dog beaches from the Panhandle to the Keys: 12 beaches
- AlabamaGulf Shores and Orange Beach: 1 beach
- MississippiGulf Islands (Davis Bayou): 1 walk
- LouisianaGrand Isle: 2 beaches
- TexasGalveston and Port Aransas: 2 beaches
- Californiadog beaches from San Diego to Point Reyes, plus Yosemite: 11 beaches, 4 walks
- Oregonthe North and Central Coast: 4 beaches
- Washingtonthe Long Beach Peninsula: 1 beach
- AlaskaAnchorage: 1 walk
- Hawaiithe main beach rules: 2 beaches
- MichiganSleeping Bear Dunes: 1 beach, 2 walks
- WisconsinPoint Beach (Lake Michigan): 1 beach
- MinnesotaGooseberry Falls: 1 walk
- IllinoisChicago and Evanston: 2 beaches
- IndianaIndiana Dunes: 1 beach
- OhioCuyahoga Valley and Cleveland's lakefront: 1 beach, 1 walk
- PennsylvaniaPresque Isle and Delaware Water Gap: 1 beach, 1 walk
- VermontNiquette Bay (Lake Champlain): 1 walk
- West VirginiaNew River Gorge: 1 walk
- KentuckyMammoth Cave: 1 walk
- Tennesseethe Great Smoky Mountains: 1 walk
- ArkansasHot Springs: 1 walk
- MissouriGateway Arch: 1 walk
- IowaEffigy Mounds: 1 walk
- OklahomaChickasaw: 1 walk
- KansasTallgrass Prairie: 1 walk
- NebraskaScotts Bluff: 1 walk
- South DakotaWind Cave: 1 walk
- North DakotaFort Ransom: 1 walk
- MontanaGlacier: 1 walk
- WyomingJackson Hole: 1 walk
- ColoradoGreat Sand Dunes: 1 walk
- New MexicoWhite Sands: 1 walk
- ArizonaGrand Canyon and Petrified Forest: 2 walks
- UtahZion and Bryce Canyon: 2 walks
- NevadaGreat Basin: 1 walk
- IdahoEagle Island: 1 walk
- District of ColumbiaRock Creek Park: 1 walk
Where we coverWe're adding the US state by state, starting on the coast. So far: Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, Cape Ann, Boston and state beaches, Massachusetts; the Seacoast, New Hampshire; southern Maine and the state park beaches, Maine; state beaches and Narragansett, Rhode Island; state park beaches, Connecticut; New York City and Long Island, New York; the Jersey Shore from Sandy Hook to Cape May, New Jersey; state parks and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware; Ocean City, Maryland; Virginia Beach and Shenandoah, Virginia; the Outer Banks, southern beaches and the Smokies, North Carolina; the Grand Strand, Charleston, Hilton Head and Congaree, South Carolina; Tybee, Jekyll, St. Simons and Atlanta's river trails, Georgia; official dog beaches from the Panhandle to the Keys, Florida; Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Alabama; Gulf Islands (Davis Bayou), Mississippi; Grand Isle, Louisiana; Galveston and Port Aransas, Texas; dog beaches from San Diego to Point Reyes, plus Yosemite, California; the North and Central Coast, Oregon; the Long Beach Peninsula, Washington; Anchorage, Alaska; the main beach rules, Hawaii; Sleeping Bear Dunes, Michigan; Point Beach (Lake Michigan), Wisconsin; Gooseberry Falls, Minnesota; Chicago and Evanston, Illinois; Indiana Dunes, Indiana; Cuyahoga Valley and Cleveland's lakefront, Ohio; Presque Isle and Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania; Niquette Bay (Lake Champlain), Vermont; New River Gorge, West Virginia; Mammoth Cave, Kentucky; the Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee; Hot Springs, Arkansas; Gateway Arch, Missouri; Effigy Mounds, Iowa; Chickasaw, Oklahoma; Tallgrass Prairie, Kansas; Scotts Bluff, Nebraska; Wind Cave, South Dakota; Fort Ransom, North Dakota; Glacier, Montana; Jackson Hole, Wyoming; Great Sand Dunes, Colorado; White Sands, New Mexico; Grand Canyon and Petrified Forest, Arizona; Zion and Bryce Canyon, Utah; Great Basin, Nevada; Eagle Island, Idaho; Rock Creek Park, District of Columbia. Beaches not on the map aren't checked yet.
Shorebird closuresPiping plover and tern nesting areas close to dogs from spring to fall, and can change daily. Signs on the beach always take priority.
Leash laws"Dogs allowed" means there's no beach rule against dogs that day. Town and state leash laws still apply unless a beach is marked off-leash.